fusion sound

[LarryJ]

I know gear threads are not really allowed here but I was hoping this would slide. Since this seems to be a very well rounded and international forum I was hoping there was some fusion fans who could give me an insight how to get that sound (note sound; not tone). Being a somewhat converted metal-head I'm trying to get into jazz and especially 'rock' fusion more (think gambale, benvenuti, garsed, chris poland etc) but dont know where to start when it comes to getting the sound out of my amp. I know alot of string skipping and legato and all that helps the sound out, but where should the dials be pointed?

Thanks in advance,

-Larry

[DepressedNazgul]

I don't really know what sort of sound you're looking for, but I can tell you that if you want to play fusion, you should (temporarily) forget about string skipping/legato/other guitar oriented stuff, and get into melody, harmony and composition. After all, fusion is just jazz, but with bass guitar, distortion and synths, and with a little more punch.

[Skyport]

Generally speaking, the amount of gain that you would use would be somewhat less than what you'd use for neoclassical shred metal, for example. This is just an opinion, of course. But that is what I've noticed from listening to a lot of fusion. Alan Holdsworth once said that he viewed distortion as a neccessary evil type of deal - he only used enough distortion so as to achieve a certain level of sustain, not distortion for the sake of having a distorted tone.